For more than three-quarters of century, a state-owned farmers' market has operated in Pompano Beach. It has not lasted that long without obstacles: old buildings, volatile weather, industry changes and more. Most recently, Gov. Rick Scott vetoed a funding proposal from the market for $500,000 in renovations. The action might have disappointed the market's leaders, but you won't hear them complain about it. They say they're looking ahead. Manager Joe Swick says Americans' interest in cooking and diet bodes well for the market, a venue for farmers and brokers to sell their food to major distributors and grocery stores.

By Emily Miller and Wayne K. Roustan and Sun Sentinel, September 26, 2014

A confrontation at a food market Thursday night ended in gunfire that injured three people, two of whom were treated at a hospital. It happened at Marshall's Food Mart, 1403 NW 27th Ave., in unincorporated Broward near Fort Lauderdale. Witnesses said the confrontation spilled outside, where the store's clerk began firing. A woman at the scene, Tremetria Allen, said her two sons were shot - one in the foot and the other grazed on the chin. She also said the young woman who was with them was shot in the back.

Pesticide-free, locally grown, organic fruits and vegetables will be up for sale at the grand opening Saturday of a Dania Beach farmers market operated by PATCH, the People's Access to Community Horticulture. The market will be open from 9:30 a.m. to 2 p.m. at 1200 NW 1 s t St., Dania Beach, where PATCH has its garden. There will be recipes, live music and games at the event, which is funded by the TOUCH (Transforming our Communities Health) initiative of the Broward Regional Health Planning Council, and the Dania Beach Community Redevelopment Agency.

Home prices in Broward County increased in August, but sales declined — a mixed bag we might as well get used to, analysts say. The median price for existing single-family homes last month was $290,000, up 7 percent from a year earlier, the Greater Fort Lauderdale Realtors said Monday. The increase was well below 2013 levels but higher than the statewide average of 3.4 percent. Still, fewer Broward buyers closed on homes during the month. Sales fell 7 percent, to 1,295 from 1,389 in August 2013.

Investors paying cash are buying homes across South Florida, but in many cases it’s to rent, not flip. That’s the word from KangaRent, a Palm Beach Gardens-based rental real estate brokerage. Rents are rising as demand for leasing intensifies following the housing bust. Fort Lauderdale checks in at No. 8 on a top 10 list of the best markets for rental home investors, according to this story by the Wall Street Journal. Orlando is fourth, while Tampa-St. Pete is sixth.

The range of opinion on the future path of the stock market is as wide as ever. The optimists know that bull stock markets begin with seemingly unimportant short-term economic improvements, but the pessimists know that market moves also anticipate the long-term health of the economy. And everyone knows that the U.S. economy relies heavily on a U.S. consumer who continues to weaken under the pressure of chronic high unemployment, growing credit restrictions, negative home equity and bleak prospects for higher taxes, not to mention the negative outlook for both public (Social Security/Medicare)

Former Panthers goalie Roberto Luongo, who seemed to be spinning his wheels in Vancouver since they relegated him to backup last year, is in the market for new wheels after robbers apparently stripped his Mercedes-Benz GL-Class SUV earlier this week. Luongo, who's already working out at the Panthers training facility in Coral Springs near his offseason home, is once again the starter in Vancouver after the Canucks surprisingly traded goalie Cory Schneider to the Devils in June. Apparently, the thieves swiped his expensive rims right of his driveway as Luongo indicated with a photo on his twitter account: Strombone1: "At least the robbers were nice enough to leave me the car. "

By Harriet Johnson Brackey and South Florida Sun-Sentinel, April 16, 2010

Here's how the market looks now, from several angles: For builders , David Crowe, chief economist of the National Association of Home Builders, says this is the worst market – ever. "No hesitation. In absolute numbers we've never seen this low of a housing production." For condo owners , "It's going to be a long, long time of pain," said Langhorne. The employment decline is so severe now that those building projects have stopped, between December 2006 and last January, state employment figures show that more than 340,000 jobs disappeared in just two categories - construction and finance/real estate.

1. If the Dolphins overspent on Branden Albert out of left-tackle desperation as I wrote in my column today, General Manager Dennis Hickey is on the verge of some shrewd dealing at defensive tackle. The possible re-signing of Randy Starks on Wednesday morning underlines that point. Consider: Earl Mitchell (four years, $16 million, $9 million guaranteed) and Starks could earn less combined than what departing Dolphin Paul Soliai got from Atlanta (5-33-14). (Of course, that doesn' tell the entire contract story.

The Dow Jones industrial average on Thursday gained 28.02, or 0.3 percent, to close at 11,382.51. The Standard & Poor's 500 index rose 4.31, or 0.3 percent, to 1,309.72, and the Nasdaq composite index rose 11.32, or 0.5 percent, to 2,344.95.

In recognition of U.S. Hispanics' influence on the country's social and economic future, PNC is honoring Hispanic Heritage Month with more than 25 sponsored community and employee events in 16 cities — including several here in Florida. These events reflect PNC's strategic investment in U.S. Hispanics and allow our company to compete for top talent and deepen relationships with Hispanic customers. For PNC, Hispanic Heritage Month reflects our strategic investment in the Hispanic community, which continues to grow in size and influence.

Tourism bureaus in Broward and Palm Beach counties are making a bigger push for destination weddings. To help attract more of them, the bureaus are offering free wedding services to brides-to-be looking to celebrate their special day away from home. In Broward, the Greater Fort Lauderdale Convention & Visitors Bureau also is stepping up marketing efforts at select bridal and wedding shows and setting more aggressive goals for its destination weddings business. Its goal for 2014 was to book 1,500 room nights in Broward, but the bureau's wedding specialist has assisted with 147 weddings this year and booked 2,468 room nights.

September 21, 2014 Q: Was Miami's offer for Andray Blatche that bad that he instead signed in China? -- Mike. A: The fact that both Jordan Crawford and Andray Blatche opted for China says plenty about the level of interest from the NBA. Granted, the money in China can be better than the NBA minimum, but a guaranteed minimum deal possibly would have lured one or both. Then there's Ramon Sessions, who got two years guaranteed from the Kings, above the minimum.

Flagler Village's fourth Night Owl Street Festival is going to be the biggest one yet, said event organizer Chris Gaidry. The last one, in 2013, took place in a warehouse in Fort Lauderdale's FAT Village and attracted more than 3,000 people. So this time Gaidry's group has decided to block off a whole quarter mile of Northeast Third Avenue, from Northeast Seventh Street to Northeast Fifth Street, when it hosts its next evening eat-out on Saturday from 5 to 11 p.m. The festival also aims to support of the neighborhood's burgeoning Green Market, a monthly event in the works.

In my last column, I asked if the record highs in the stock market make you nervous. It was, of course a rhetorical question, because it has been months since I have met an investor who feels confident of avoiding a significant stock market "correction" in the near future. As I write this article, the S&P 500 Index is again sitting at a new record high closing level, which on the surface should make all of the people with substantial assets invested in the stock market very happy.

South Florida's job market was proclaimed "healthy" last week by a major staffing company, Manpower. Sixteen percent of the employers surveyed plan to hire more employees by December. At the same time, local staffing agencies said they are seeing a rise in temporary staffing. The situation may seem incongruous, but as employers begin to hire more permanent staff in a recovering economy, they also tend to hire more temporary and contract staff members. A mix of permanent and temporary staff "is the new normal," said Ryan Skubis, South Florida district president for professional staffing firm Robert Half International.